Welcome back to my third (and final) installment of
this Realm rambling series.
I am going to try very hard not to break any author
rules. Keep your fingers crossed for me
please… J
Today I will explain the premise behind the ‘Ancients.’
If it prompts more questions for you – please jump onto the Ancients Facebook
page to leave them for me or leave them in the comments below and I will do a
follow-up session. I know the Ancients so
well that sometimes I fail to include pertinent facts that you would only know
if you happen to take up residence in my brain.
The term ‘Ancients,’
both Witch and Vampire, refers only to those immortals that were created
supernaturally, not to any of their offspring that were birthed
later by mated pairings. Few
have survived the millennia of war and only a handful of true Ancients still
occupy the Realm. Until recent history the Vampire and Witch have been
primarily contained within the remote country sides of the area that the humans
call Europe. In the last few centuries
though, Ancients and others have left the Realm for the OuterWorld …I am
heading somewhere with that, which you will probably figure out after Book #8
(Grace and Alexandros...I have been talking about them some on the Ancients FB
page lately).
In
the Beginning…there were Vampire.
This tagline for the Chosen intro pretty much sums it up. I was going to originally go with…“And on the
8th Day God created the Witch.” I scrapped that because when I meet my Maker,
I probably would have to answer for it.
There is no chicken or the egg debate here
though. Vampire came first, after man’s
fall from grace. As far as when that was exactly, there may have been any number
of centuries where the human population grew larger in number and flourished as
a species. In my estimation (and in the timeline
I constructed around the series) this makes the Ancients in the vicinity of 3600
years of age.
No longer God’s protected ones in the confines of
Eden, mankind was now easy prey. A
nefarious force from the Underworld (yep, THAT guy) was bent on destroying man completely. Obviously, there were limits to what exactly
he and his demons could do on earth, so there needed to be something wicked and
not bound by the rules of heavenly (and formerly heavenly) beings. Poof – here
come the Vampire.
The Vampire breed was endowed with strength, speed,
and immortality…and the need to chomp yummy little humans, of course. These Ancients also possessed mental abilities
that are not seen in their weaker offspring, such as telekinesis. As the
Ancients aged, their abilities in all areas grew stronger. Sunlight was definitely
a weakness, but the only other way to kill them (at least before the Witch
arrived on scene) was beheading.
Supernatural must be countered by supernatural. Something of equal strength to oppose the Vampire
was necessary. The Witch were divinely created
to counter the threat to mankind. The strongest of this breed are female and
that is no accident. In case you are wondering
– yes, the Ancients of Light series
is going to be riddled with a lot of FEMALE AWESOMENESS.
The Witch are of seven castes of power. Those of
Light, Fire and the Warrior castes were capable of bringing death to the Dark
creatures from the onset. The usefulness
of the magic of the remaining Castes will be revealed in later books when those
Queens rise. In the times of the Ancient Queens, the power of Caster, Healer,
Nature and Seer Queens had not been fully realized before their demise, and
therefore none in the Realm are really certain of the full extent of their abilities.
There was one glitch in the creation of the supernatural
beings, the very same factor that caused mankind’s fall from grace. Ancients
were given free will, to choose good or evil, despite their origin. As a result,
with the passage of time, members of each breed have found different callings.
That is a summary of who the Ancients are and why
they were created. Book #4 in the series will reveal much of the history of the
Ancients, including the identity of the person truly responsible for the
betrayal at Laverock over 2000 years ago.
Have a Happy Week, Peeps!
So the Realm is the remote parts of Europe? So they can just drive or fly to the Realm depending on where they are at? Can humans can get into the Realm? How do humans not stubble on the Realm? Is there a magical barrier?
ReplyDeleteYes, the Ancients were located in that area in the beginning and the activities of the 'Realm' have been confined there, for the most part, until recent years. Part of the magic of the Witch breed is directed to keeping humans from stumbling into the Realm and ignorant of its occupants, though there have been incidents of contact.
DeleteSome places remain extremely well protected and others may today be hidden in plain sight. Laverock, for instance, would never be accidentally discovered by a human, because it is very well protected and cloaked by magic. Other castles/fortresses may be in the realm of human existence, but would be privately held properties (and the measures of security surrounding them include magic to keep the ongoings of the Witch and Vampire private). There are circumstances now where Vampire and Witch, of both Light and Dark, will venture into the world of humans (as with Ella and Nicholas). In later books you will meet others that live between the two worlds or have left the Realm entirely to make home amongst the humans.
Vamps would rarely fly or drive anywhere, there is little need for them to do so, unless it were merely for the fact that they wanted to (like Nicholas liking his sports cars). The Vampire can shadow anywhere they have actually seen (even if they have not actually seen it in person). That is one of the reasons the Vampire were confined to the Realm for so long. Long boat trips or plane rides where one could easily be exposed to the sun were not something too many were willing to sign up for (though some have done it). The advent of television and digital photography made travelling beyond the Realm much easier for them.
The Witch are a bit more limited in their travelling abilities, since they lack the power to shadow; however, they don’t have to worry about the whole charbroiled experience, so they could avail themselves of regular means of transportation to extend their reach beyond the Realm. Witch can travel magically, when necessary, with spells from the Casters.
Did Light vampire exist before witches and did they fight the dark vampires before the witches were created?
ReplyDeleteNo, the Vampire did not split into Light and Dark factions until approximately 900 years after their creation, long after the arrival of the Witch. There were a few Ancients that lead the movement to join the Light (and you will meet them in Book #4).
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